OVERVIEW OF FINANCIAL SERVICES OFFERED BY BANKS IN VIETNAM FINANCIAL MARKET Financial services make up one of the economy's most important and influential sectors Financial services is a broad range of more specific activities such as banking, investing, and insurance Financial services are limited to the activity of financial services firms and their professionals, while financial products are the actual goods, accounts, or investments they provide Financial services help with the making, investment and management of money for both people and organisations; for example, trading shares in the stock market, or helping people put money away for a rainy day Banks are places to keep your money but it doesn’t just sit there in a vault Banks use that money and lend it to people who need it; for example, people who want to buy a house or a car The borrower will then pay that money back to the bank, plus an additional cost in the form of interest Organisations other than banks also deal with money Trust funds and stockbrokers may buy and sell commodities like coffee or oil They aim to buy at a low price and sell at a higher one, much like a coffee shop, except they don’t keep the product in a warehouse The financial services sector also serves the public by giving out advice on how they might make the most of their savings Financial services companies are competing against each other When everybody wants to buy the same thing or the product is popular but in short supply, the price will rise There may also be other factors that affect the price, such as production costs or events in the country where it is produced For example, Vietnam- a country which is a large producer of coffee It may have a bad harvest which will reduce the amount of coffee that is available Because it is still in demand, but there is less of it, people will compete for it by offering more money to buy it